Description: Under orders, in late January 1863, Confederate Maj. Gen.
Joseph Wheeler, commanding two brigades of cavalry, had taken position
on the Cumberland River at Palmyra to disrupt Union shipping. The Federals,
however, apprised of Wheeler’s intent, refrained from sending any boats
up or downriver. Unable to disrupt Union shipping and realizing that he
and his men could not remain in the area indefinitely, Wheeler decided
to attack the garrison at Dover, Tennessee, which informers reported was
small and could easily be overwhelmed. The Rebels set out for Dover and
between 1:00 and 2:00 pm, on February 3, began an attack. The 800-man
garrison, under the command of Col. A.C. Harding, was in and about the
town of Dover where they had chosen camps that commanded the area and had
dug rifle pits and battery emplacements. The Confederates mounted a determined
attack using artillery fire with great skill, but were repulsed with heavy
losses. By dusk, both sides were mostly without ammunition. The Confederates
surveyed the Union defenses and decided that the enemy was too well-placed
to allow capture. Wheeler’s force retired. The Federals did send out a
pursuit but to no avail. The Confederates had failed to disrupt shipping
on the Cumberland River and capture the garrison at Dover. This Confederate
failure left the Union in control in Middle Tennessee and a bitter Brig.
Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest denounced Wheeler, a favorite of Gen. Braxton
Bragg, saying he would not again serve under him.